Thais celebrate Water Festival

The Songkran water festival is held to celebrate Thailand’s traditional New Year, which fell on Saturday. The event has been added to the world’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list by the UN cultural agency. Revelers gathered on a street in central Bangkok to celebrate one day before the formal start of the holiday.
Residents and tourists used water guns and buckets to splash water at each other. The Thai government sees the UNESCO listing as an opportunity to promote tourism and has organized events across the country. The government expects tourism to rake in 650 million dollars during the five-day holiday period.